Last night, President Trump signed and released the proclamation alluded to in his tweet from Monday about “suspending immigration.” Below you will find our summary of what this means, but the good news is that the scope of the proclamation and its impact are actually very limited.
Who Is Impacted?
Only individuals who are outside the US and applying for an immigrant visa to enter the US as a permanent resident within the next 60 days.
Who Is Not Impacted
The following things are not impacted by this order:
Filing the I-140 or getting the I-140 approved.
Filing the I-485, getting the I-485 approved, or receiving your green card based on an approved I-485.
Filing the I-765 to apply for employment authorization, getting the I-765 approved, or receiving your EAD.
Filing the I-131 to apply for advanced parole, getting the I-131 approved, or receiving the AP travel document.
Any nonimmigrant visa including F-1 and dependents, J-1 and dependents, O-1 and dependents, H-1B and dependents, etc.
Other Key Points
The U.S. Department of State had already suspended all routine visa services in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Since it was already nearly impossible to get a new visa outside the US, the new proclamation largely formalizes the status quo.
Even with the very narrow scope of the executive order, there are many exceptions, including for individuals who already have received their immigrant visa and individuals who will work as physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals.
The proclamation is valid for 60 days. It can be extended beyond that, but for now it is set to expire on June 23, 2020.
Even if your plan is to apply for an immigrant visa at a consulate broad, you can still file the I-140, and the I-140 still can be approved. The only impact would be to delay when you can receive the immigrant visa to enter the US.
Conclusion
We understand that this is a time of great uncertainty for everyone, but particularly for our clients, and we promise to keep you updated with any new developments. But for now, the impact of this degree is fairly limited in scope and duration.